Visiting cancer researcher allegedly hid ties to the Chinese military
Juan Tang, 37, a Chinese national who was recently a visiting cancer researcher at UC Davis, was charged Thursday by a federal grand jury in Sacramento with visa fraud and with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Tang is accused of concealing her alleged ties to the Chinese military when she applied for a U.S. visa and again when she was interviewed by the FBI in June at her Cranbrook Court apartment in Davis.
Tang was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on July 24 after having sought refuge inside the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco for a month. Her request for bail was denied last week.
“I don’t see sufficient conditions to overcome flight risk,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Barnes said, citing Tang’s lack of ties to the U.S. and extensive ties to China, where Tang’s husband and child live.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Tang was issued a J-1 visa on Nov. 5 to conduct research at UC Davis. She entered the United States on Dec. 27 and, according to UC Davis, left the university at the end of June.
On her visa application, Tang said she was not affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party and had never served in the military, statements that U.S. prosecutors say were false.
Internet searches conducted by the FBI revealed a 2019 article about Tang’s medical research, which included a headshot of her wearing a military uniform that bore the insignia of the Civilian Cadres of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
In a Statement of Probable Cause, the FBI cited three news articles that list Tang’s employer as the Air Force Medical University (AFMU), formerly known as the Fourth Military Medical University (FMMU), in Xi’an, China.
“It appears that Tang is part of a civilian cadre whose members are considered active-duty military personnel,” the criminal complaint states. FBI agents said in the complaint that Tang told them she, like others at AFMU, wore the uniform as was required and was unaware of the insignia’s meaning.
According to a UC Davis spokesperson, Tang came to Davis through an exchange program affiliated with Xijing Hospital, which has been part of the Air Force Medical University since 1954 and is one of China’s top teaching hospitals.
“Juan Tang was a visiting researcher in the Department of Radiation Oncology, funded by the Chinese Scholarship Council, a study-based exchange program affiliated with China’s Ministry of Education and Xijing Hospital in China,” UC Davis Director of Media Relations Melissa Lutz Blouin said in an email to The Enterprise.
According to Tang’s federal defender, Alexandra Negin, the pieces of evidence cited by federal authorities as proof of Tang’s secret military connections “lend themselves to many innocent explanations.”
“Ms. Tang apparently attended a prestigious medical school that is run by the military in China. That does not mean that she was ‘in the military,’” said Negin. “The civilian students are required to wear uniforms but those uniforms do not indicate that the student is in the military. The civilian students have no rank in the military and are free upon graduation to go wherever they wish to work.”
Tang is one of four visiting researchers from China recently charged with visa fraud “in connection with a scheme to lie about their status as members of the People’s Republic of China’s military forces,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.
“In addition to these arrests, the FBI has recently conducted additional interviews of visa holders suspected of having undeclared affiliation with the Chinese military in more than 25 American cities,” the press release stated. The charges come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China.
If convicted of visa fraud, Tang faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. If convicted of making false statements to the FBI, Tang faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Tang’s arraignment is set for Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan.
— Reach Caleb Hampton at champton@davisenterprise.net. Follow him on Twitter at @calebmhampton.